


Calm After the Storm

by marquil



Series: Calm After the Storm [1]
Category: Happy Valley (TV), Last Tango In Halifax
Genre: F/F, cross fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 03:58:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3714118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marquil/pseuds/marquil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Terrible events leave 48 year old Caroline (neé Elliot) McKenzie widowed and recovering, until one day an old flame from university turns up on her doorstep. Does Caroline feel she's stable enough to start rebuilding her life or will she allow the storm to rage on within.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is the beginning hopefully a continue mini series based on the characters Caroline McKenzie and Clare Cartwright from Sally Wainwright's Last Tango in Halifax and Happy Valley. Hope enjoy, feedback is always highly appreciated <3

_Caroline Mckenzie:_

 

She took the short step from the interior of her car, out into the brisk and bitter English evening. Her boots hit the pavement before she shut the car door as quietly as possible, being cautious not to wake the household. She clicked the grey button on her key, popping open the trunk to get her luggage. Exhausted from her long trip, she pulled it over the edge and let it fall on the concrete driveway. She shut and locked the car before making her way across the driveway and up the stairs, dragging her bags behind her. She struggled keeping her eyes open, as she fumbled for the key to front door. She unlocked the door and nearly fell inside. The lights in the house were all off, except for the light in the entryway and the upstairs hall, which she had asked Celia to leave on so she wouldn’t break both her legs finding her way up the stairs to her room.

She started toward the stairs, passing the living room along the way and stopping to admire the sight of her newborn fast asleep in her pram next to Greg. She allowed herself a few seconds of fawning over the beautiful sight, before creeping across the hardwood tiling, quiet not to wake either of them. She knelt down in front of the basinet and gently placed a kiss of the forehead of her baby, asleep. She’d missed Flora so much the past few days and was grateful she hadn’t taken anymore time off than she had. She’d missed them all so much, even her mother. The small infant tossed in her sleep and Caroline took it as a mild sign to go before she woke up. She thought it’d best if she were to let her sleep down here the night, instead of waking her up just to carry her upstairs. She seemed perfectly content as Caroline left her to sleep downstairs, as she got on up the stairs. Once she was in her own room once again she shut the door and collapsed on to the bed, exasperated. As much as she loved travelling, she always came home and remembered why it always left such a bad taste in her mouth afterward; she missed home. She looked over at the clock, reading quarter to eleven. She changed out of her sweatpants and into her warm cotton pyjama’s and slipped into bed. She hadn’t slept hardly at all on the flight home, and she was out like a light in a matter of seconds. 

 

⋱⋰*⋱⋰*⋱⋰*⋱⋰*⋱⋰*⋱⋰*⋱⋰*⋱⋰*⋱⋰*

 

She woke up the following morning, almost unaware of her surroundings. She recognized the voices coming downstairs and a rush of excitement filled her mind. She bolted out of bed and went for her robe across the room. She pulled her arms through the sleeves and tied the sash. She exited the room and fled down the stairs, being greeted by the smell of bacon and eggs, and the sound of morning chatter. Her mum at the stove, Flora and Greg at the table and the others in the living room chin wagging about nothing particular. As soon as she came into sight they all shouted her name. Lawrence was surprisingly the first to come running to his mother, with a huge grin on his face. She held him tight kissing the top of his head, before pulling back with a look of disappointed across her face. “Gran hasn’t sent you to the barber’s yet to cut this.. _mop_?”

He rolled his eyes, moaning in response, “ _Muuuum…_ ”

His attitude changed quickly and he returned to his conversation in the den. “How was your trip?” Celia questioned, as Caroline entered the kitchen. 

“Exciting…” She answered honestly. “As much as I enjoyed sleeping in, I did miss this little one.”

She removed the soother from Flora’s mouth and kissed her plump cheeks. “The house definitely wasn’t the same without you… it was much more quiet.”

She spun around to see John in the doorway, looking smug while showing a friendly grin. “I’m sorry… Why are you here?” Caroline interrogated. 

He blabbered about until he found his reason, “Well, I was just here to see Lawrence. He’s my son too, still.”

She rolled her eyes, not bothering to call out his bull shit, and turned back to the counter to see what her mother was cooking. “Crêpes mum? When did you learn to cook them?”

“Greg taught me while you were away. Only, I promised him that after, I’d do the night shift for Flora. I think it was well worth it.”

“Me too.” Greg added, snatching one, straight from them pan.”

Celia hit his hand away with the spatula and tried keeping a straight face. 

“Oh, and Caroline… Someone called twice while you were gone. It were a young lady… Do you remember her name, John?”

“Something like Blaire..? Or Bonnie….Carrie..? Do you recognize any of these?”

She furrowed her eyebrows, thinking over each name. “No… Did she say why she called?” Caroline uttered, with furrowed brows.

“She wanted to know if she could drop in. I said you were away on holiday.” Celia responded, pouring more batter in the pan. 

“Hm… Well thats odd. I’ll ring them back later. In the meantime, I think Miss Flora needs her nappy changed.”

She lifted the baby from her pram and carried her up the stairs.

 

 

⋰*⋱⋰*⋱⋰*⋱ _A week before…_

 

_Clare Cartwright:_

 

 

“Alright thats enough, settle down.”

She took the coat off of her nephew and hung it on the hook, as he took off to his room. She moved her gaze to the top of the stairs. “ _I want your room cleaned up before your gran gets home, do ya hear me!?”_

She waited for an answer and wasn’t surprised when she didn’t hear anything back. She took off her coat and went into the kitchen to boil the kettle. The computer went off just as she plugged it in, grabbing her attention. Catherine must have left it on overnight. She took a seat and was tempted when she saw her sister's Facebook account left logged in. She was hesitant logging off and entering her own like she hadn’t in so long. She was greeted by show advertisements and family photos posted by friends. As she was scrolling she recognized a name she hadn't in so long. Her heart stopped for a short second before entering the profile and giving it a thorough investigation for a solid ten minutes. Once she realized what she was doing was ridiculous, she logged out and shut it down. She took a few minutes of reflection as she sipped her tea and then she got an idea. 

She climbed the stairs up to her bedroom, checking on Ryan along the way. Just as she had presumed, there wasn’t any production being made in his room. She got on her knees and pulled out a large box from underneath her bed. She hadn’t opened it in years. She pealed off the duct tape and opened the folds; revealing dozens of photographs and trinkets from when she was younger, bringing smiles and tears to her face. She was looking through her senior year book when she heard the door open. “What ya doin’?” Ryan asked, curiously. 

“Oh, I’ve just been ah… been looking at a few old things. Thats all.” She replied, refocusing on the horrible hairdo she had back in the day.

“Oh. Who’s this Aunty?”

“What?” She questioned, as she continued looking through the book.

“Who’s this woman with you? I’ve never seen her before.”

She looked up and saw the photo in his hand. Her eyes grew wide as she urgently thought of what to say. “That was a uh- a friend of mine in college.”

“Oh. She kinda looks like gran.” He said, tossing the photo back on to the floor. He started back toward the door before stopping once more and asking, “What’s for dinner?”

She was so distracted in her thoughts it took her a moment to think. “I think your gran took out some chicken.”

He nodded his head and ran back to his room. Once he was gone, she picked the photo up and took a good look at it. Followed by a few others from the same pile. She cleaned up the mess she had made, so Catherine wouldn’t see it when she came home and returned to the computer. 


	2. A New Beginning I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone unexpected shows up unannounced on Caroline's doorstep...

She stood on the front steps and knocked on the front door, meekly. She heard loud chatter from within the house and a man yell, “I’ll get it,” shortly before the door opened.   
“Hello, I was just wonderin’ if Caroline’s home.”  
“Oh, uh yeah she’s just busy at the moment. Come on in.”  
He held the door open for her and stood back, giving her space to enter. Her eyes crossed the room in wonder, before returning to him. “I’m Clare, an old friend of Caroline’s. Are you her husband?”  
Het let out an uneasy chuckle. “Uh no… I’m Greg. Just a friend. Would you like to step in? Caroline’s just busy at the moment.”  
She politely agreed and followed him in and around the corner, into the kitchen. She took a seat next to another man at the table, playing cards with a boy who appeared to be Caroline’s son. “Oh hello, I’m John… Nice to meet you.”   
He held his hand out to be polite. “I believe I spoke with you on the phone.”  
“Yea, it appears so. So, are you Caroline’s husband?”  
“N-no well yes, no… ex-husband.”  
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She chuckled, awkwardly. “I was just goin’ through Facebook the other day and saw that she was married with children…”  
“No no, its fine… She never uses that thing anymore anyway. She’s too busy….”  
She ignored the obvious dig toward his ex-wife and looked about the room, awkwardly. Just as the outside had appeared, the inside was also a rather exquisite sight. Perhaps Caroline had fulfilled her dream as she’d said and become the next Marie Curie.   
A few moments later she heard a silvery voice ringing from the floor above, “Muum…, could you send someone up with a fresh bottle please?”  
She heard a series of moans echoing from behind her as one by one all the men volunteered to remain on the ground floor. “I could take it up if anyone wouldn’t mind…” Clare offered, using what little courage she held.  
“Oh, thank you, dear. If you wouldn’t mind.” Celia, smiled.  
She returned the smile, graciously and retrieved the bottle from the older woman’s hand. As she ascended to the second floor she let her mind wonder. "Grandchildren?" She thought.   
She met the top of the stairs and followed the noise coming from down the hall; the sound of a baby gurgling and squealing about. Her pace dropped by nearly half, as she nervously made her way down the hall to the nursery. She turned the corner and stood in the doorway as Caroline held the excited baby to her chest, bouncing her to keep her happy until her milk came.  
She took a moment to work up the nerve and crossed the room, holding out the bottle. “Here you are.” She said, softly.   
“Thank you…” Caroline took the bottle and held it in her hand, frozen.   
Who was this woman? She turned around and her mind went blank as she observed the woman before her. “I-I’m sorry… Who are you, may I ask?”  
“Oh, yes sorry… I’m an old friend. You may not remember but, my name is Clare… Clare Cartwright.”   
Flora had grabbed on to the bottle and began feeding while her mother continued trying to recall who estranged woman was. “We didn’t go to teacher’s college, did we?”  
“No, I’m afraid not. We went to university together, we…”  
“Oh my goodness… Clare?”  
Clare fidgeted awkwardly with her rings as Caroline was filled with a rush of memories. “Is that really you?”  
She set the baby down in the crib, giving her a soother and turned back to Clare. “How on earth did you find me? And how have you been?”   
She pulled her in for a hug, taking Clare by surprise. “I hope you don’t think I’m mad, but I was on Facebook and I saw you pop up. I guess I just got curious and thought I’d stop in. I hope you don’t mind… Your mum thought it’d be okay.”  
“No, I don’t mind at all.” She smiled.   
“I was just feeding the baby, why don’t we go downstairs and talk. I’ll get my mum to do the feeding?”  
“Oh, no need… I can always come back again. I don’t want to be a bother.” Clare spoke, sheepishly.   
“Oh don’t be silly… It’s no problem at all.”  
Calorine picked baby Flora back up into her arms, and carried her downstairs, holding her out to Celia. “Mum can you feed Flora, I’m just going to be round back with Clare here. You remember her right, mum? From university?”  
Celia face flushed red, as she took her granddaughter from Caroline. She gave Caroline a sarcastic look, reading, ‘really’?  
Clare followed after Caroline to the backyard, where Caroline shut the door behind her.   
“I’m sorry about that. Here, why don’t you have a seat and I’ll get us some tea?”  
“No, no… It’s fine. I had lunch just an hour ago.”  
“Alright.” She took a seat on the wooden bench beside Clare, crossing her legs and folding her hands in one another.  
“Is that your grand-daughter?” Clare asked with a smile.  
“No, daughter.”  
“Oh… I’m sorry I wasn’t…”  
“It’s fine, I understand. My family’s gotten very complex within the past few years.”  
Caroline could tell an explanation was being waited upon, but she wasn’t ready quite yet to open up that far. “So… how have you been the past… twenty-so years?”  
“I’ve been alright. Well actually not. Next week marks five years I’ve been sober.”  
“Oh well congratulations. That’s good to hear. And do you have a family? Husband?”  
“No no, just me and Catherine and her grandson. You remember me sister, right?”  
“She the copper?”  
“Yea, thats the one.”  
Caroline smiled at the memories of all the arguments the two women had in the past while she was spending time with Clare. They both started spilling memories out like it was only yesterday they were young adults in university making dumb decisions and fooling about the campus. Caroline was nearly doubled over, with tears in her eyes after Clare finished telling her the story of how they had went on a blind date with two of their friends. “And that was the last blind date I ever went on.” Caroline chuckled, wiping tears from her eyes.   
“Have you ever spoken with Elaine since then?”  
“No, I haven’t. After I graduated I got married to John and ended up here. I guess I got so caught up with work and family…”  
“What exactly is it you do for a living?”  
“Well, aside from putting up with those people I work as a head teacher at Sulgrave, just down the road.”  
“And what made you decide to go into teaching?”  
“I’m not sure, actually. Either way, it’s something I’ve come to love.”  
“Well thats good to hear.”  
Clare brushed the topic off, hoping she wouldn’t need to provide her profession, for a comparison to the high class scholar next to her.   
“So then you and John are still together…?”  
“No, we divorced nearly three years ago. Flora isn’t his… If thats what you’re suggesting.”  
Clare remained silent, noticing the tone change in Caroline’s voice. “I met my wife at Sulgrave. She was a teacher as well. We got married at the end of 2013 and she passed away a few days later.”  
“Oh gosh. I’m sorry to hear that.”  
She nodded her head, signalizing her appreciated for Clare’s sympathy. “It’s been hard, not just with the baby and all, but on me, but I’ve learned to cope with it." She gave her most convincing smile, but not even Clare could be fooled. She recognized it being touchy topic for Caroline and let it go.  
The two women spent the next two hours revealing the past twenty years of their lives through laughs, tears, and more laughs before Caroline caught a glimpse of her watch. “Shit! I’m sorry, but I’ve really got to get back inside. I’ve got dinner to make and babies to change.”  
“Not a problem. I should be getting on too. Catherine will have the whole team out here looking for me.” She laughed.   
They shared a hug once more before exchanging numbers, promising to meet up again for dinner or lunch sometime.   
Caroline returned back inside the home, while Clare called a taxi to take home. She couldn’t help but think of Caroline all the way back to her home. She’s turned out exactly how she’s thought she would. She always knew that Caroline Dawson was destined for success. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she’d be following up on her promise of meeting with her again. She wanted to learn more about the Caroline that she’d become. She needed answers from the old Caroline about what happened so many years ago.


End file.
